Parent Resources

Being on the Team vs. Being a Teammate

[Thoughts NOT just for athletes….]

- Compiled by John Leonard from InSideOut Coaching by Joe Ehrmann

[Editor’s Note: When I was a swim parent (and not coaching at the time) I always felt like I was part of the team… but in retrospect, this article reminds me I wasn’t always a good teammate. I wish I had thought about it a little more back then. Guy Edson]

Being on the team benefits your personal goals and ambitions.

Being a teammate benefits the goals and ambitions of your team and your teammates.

Being on the team can make you a bystander.

Teammates intervene in the lives and actions of their teammates.

Being on the team involves personal effort.

Being a teammate involves the efforts of every player.

Being on the team means doing what is asked of you.

Being a teammate is doing whatever is needed for the team to succeed.

Being on the team can involve blaming others and making excuses.

Being a teammate involves accepting responsibility, accountability, and ownership of the team's problems.

Being on the team makes you "me-optic," asking what's in it for me?

Being a teammate makes you "we-optic," asking what's in it for us?

Sometimes players on the team are drawn together by common interests;

teammates are drawn together by a common mission.

Sometimes players on a team like one another;

teammates respect one another.

Sometimes players on a team bond together because of a shared background or compatible personalities;

teammates bond together because they recognize every player is needed to accomplish the goal of the team.

Sometimes players on a team are energized by emotions;

teammates energize one another out of commitment.

What Makes A Nightmare Sports Parent -- And What Makes A Great One

This article offers advice to parents which includes how to best support their athletes as well as how to keep the parent-athlete relationship unique from the coach-athlete relationship. A must read for ALL sports parents! 

--Download the article for printing here

Resources from USA Swimming

USA Swimming has an excellent Parents section on their website.